Stay with me
by cogito-ergo-amo
Summary: Jesse and James finally confess their love....but not before James spends some time in a coma
1.

As Jesse and James stood on the battler's podium in the Viridian City gym, they knew they were as good as beaten. Still, they weren't about to go out without a fight. Weezing was exhausted, but they'd already used Arbok and Lickitung, whilst the twerps still had Pikachu and a reasonably healthy Bulbasoar to battle with.  
  
"Bulbasoar, Vine whip, now! Cried Ash. The attack strangled Weezing, but James persevered  
  
"Weezing, smog attack!" he yelled. Bulbasoar choked and rolled over onto it's back  
  
"Bulbasoar return!" called the twerp "Oh, now I'm really mad!"  
  
"What're you going to do now kid? Use that Pikachu?" Jesse sounded mocking, but it was obvious she knew they didn't stand a chance to win.  
  
"Pikachu, c'mon, give it everything you've got!! Thundershock now!" screamed Ash. Pikachu did just that; he launched his most powerful attack yet, sending Jesse, James and their Pokemon flying. As they were launched into the distance, they called out  
  
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaiiinn!"  
  
Jesse landed first, rolling over on her ankle "Dammit! I should be getting used to that by now!"  
  
Meowth landed next, holding the pokeballs containing Arbok, Weezing and Lickitung. "Good job cats always land on their feet!"  
  
James landed last. As he fell, he hit his head on a tree. HARD. He lay on the ground, unmoving and unconscious. Jesse noticed him and shuffled over to him "James? James?" she called again, louder "James, can you hear me?" she noticed the wound on his head, oozing blood onto his sleek hair, panic stricken, she rocked his shoulder gently. His head rolled over to face her. "Oh my God! James!" A look of absolute terror spread across her face. Never, in the countless times they'd been blasted off, had anything like this happened. Occasionally, well, frequently, they'd had a sprained wrist or a headache, but never had anything really serious happened. Meowth slipped the pokeballs inside Jesse's jacket and spoke  
  
"He don't look too good. You betta get him to a hospital."  
  
"Gee, you think?" snapped Jesse. She continued, "Make yourself useful, go and tell Giovanni what's happened."  
  
"What! But that'll take days!" retorted the cat  
  
"I don't care, just do it! Jesse screamed. Meowth held up his front paws in submission, and ran off into the distance. Jesse broke down  
  
"Oh my God James! Be alright, please, please!" Tears rolling down her face, she clasped his hand to her cheek, praying that he would come to. Suddenly, sense washed over her again. She tried to pick him up, but failed. Summoning every ounce of strength in her body, she hoisted James into a fireman's lift and slowly, painfully, began to stagger back towards the main city.   
  
After what felt like an eternity of walking, Jesse arrived at the hospital, her top blood-stained from the oozing laceration on James's head. "Please…..Help" she gasped  
  
"What happened?" Questioned an attractive female doctor with brown hair.  
  
"He hit his head on a tree, hard!" replied Jesse as she helped to lay him down on a trolley. "Please! You have to help him!" she cried desperately.  
  
"We'll do what we can," said the nurse. Then, in a pleasant but firm voice "You stay in the waiting room until we call you in to see him. I'll have someone come out and take a look at your ankle."  
  
Jesse glanced down at her leg. Her skin-tight boot was ripped, and it was obvious that her ankle was dramatically swollen. However, she had more important things to think about. "No, please, let me come in with him."  
  
"How are you related?" asked the nurse  
  
Jesse thought fast "We're engaged." She replied, resolutely. She sounded convincing, but why had she said engaged? She should've said sister or something, she wanted to kick herself, but the idea of being James's fiancée was such an appealing thought…  
  
"So you're not an immediate blood relative? Then I cannot let you in. I'm sorry, it's hospital regulations. Kindly remain in the waiting room, someone will bandage your ankle, and I'll tell you how he's doing as and when we have a development"  
  
Jesse didn't want to argue any more. She slumped down on a chair with her head in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. "No" She said to herself. "I've got to keep strong, not just for James, but for myself. We'll get through this, I know we will." Jesse had always prided herself on being a strong woman. A setback like this was not going to bring out the weakness in her. James would be OK. He HAD to be Ok. They'd been together since their first day at Pokemon Tech, they'd failed the final exam after partying together, and they'd joined the bicycle gang together, and had finally joined Team Rocket together. They would be together forever.  
  
Jesse took in her surroundings. In the waiting room, there were six chairs, a coffee machine, a candy machine and a videophone. The silence rang in her ears until it was punctuated by the sound of steps, and she looked hopefully towards the double doors where James had been taken, but nobody was forthcoming. Instead, a short, fat nurse with curly blonde hair and pink cheeks approached her from the left.  
  
"Hello! I've come to fix up your ankle. This won't take a minute"  
  
So Jesse sat and waited whilst the nurse iced and bandaged her ankle. She ignored the advice of resting up for a few days, James needed her, she couldn't just sit about and do nothing!  
  
Finally the nurse left. Five minutes later, the double doors swung open and the doctor came out, with a grave expression on her face. "How is he?" Jesse nervously asked, previously unaware of how violently she was trembling.  
  
"He's not very good I'm afraid. He's in a coma and there's a blood clot on his brain. We've given him drugs to deal with the clot but we cannot say whether he'll pull through. Basically, I'm sorry to say you should prepare for the worst"  
  
Jesse collapsed heavily back into her chair. "Can I at least see him?"  
  
"No, I'm sorry, as I said, next of kin only!"  
  
"But he's all I have!"  
  
"It's hospital regulations. The answer is no!"  
  
Jesse then did something she had never done before. She knelt down in front of the doctor. "This man is all I have. I am begging you to let me see him. Please understand me, I need to see him"  
  
Taken aback by this display of emotion, the doctor gave in, "Well. All right, but only for five minutes. He really is very sick and…"  
  
But Jesse didn't hear all that the nurse had to say, she charged through the double doors to the best of her ability, considering that her ankle was causing her immense pain, and following her instinct entered room 562. She took a deep breath and stepped slowly inside. Tears stung the back of her big, blue eyes as her gaze fell upon the unconscious James. He was hooked up to a respirator and a heart monitor, and there was a drip sticking into his left arm. His hair, usually so sleek and beautiful, was messy and there was a dark patch protruding from underneath the bandages where the blood had stained it.  
  
Jesse walked slowly over to him, her breath coming in uneven starts. When she reached his bedside, she knelt down and grasped his left hand, bowing her head as if in prayer. "James, please be alright," she whispered in a gentle, pleading voice. "I have nothing without you."  
  
But the man was unresponsive.  
  
"He will be fine won't he?" She quietly asked the doctor.  
  
"I'm afraid I cannot promise anything" the doctor curtly replied, "He is in a critical condition. We've done all we can for the time being. It's up to him now. You've had five minutes, why don't you go home?"  
  
Jesse didn't bother to mention that she didn't have a home. She pushed past the doctor and ran out of the room, casting one final look of longing back at James. She felt the next wave of hot, salty tears begin to trickle down her face. She stumbled out of the hospital, wandered into a park and collapsed onto a bench. She quickly dried her eyes and remembered that she had resolved to stay strong, for James. She closed her eyes and cast her mind back once again over all the times they'd spent together. She recalled how badly she'd treated him most of the time. What she had never done however, was told him how much she truly loved, adored and worshipped him. She cursed herself for never mentioning it. She stood up and began to wander aimlessly through the park, her arms folded protectively across her stomach. On her own, she was frighteningly aware of her exposed midriff and legs, her own vulnerability in the big, wide world. It was never like this when James was with her, when they had each other as a "security blanket", someone to face the world with, someone to fall out with, someone to laugh with and ultimately someone to care about and be cared about by. Jesse continued to stagger along the path, past caring about maintaining a confident image.  
  
Lying in the hospital bed, James was unaware of his condition. As far as he was aware, he was only dreaming. Dreaming of a young blue-haired boy, his pet growlithe and his rich parents. Dreaming, about a young teenager who still used stabilisers even though he was part of a bicycle gang. Dreaming, about a young man whose parents tried to force him into marriage. Dreaming, about a beautiful, red-haired woman. A woman who had been with the blue-haired man throughout all of this, such a huge part of his life for such a long time. Meanwhile, the doctors looked on, unsure of whether he'd pull through.  
  
Jesse had found a small cave on the outskirts of town that she was using as a place to sleep as most of the hotels were full and she couldn't afford the ones that weren't. As she curled up for the night, a horrible thought crept into her mind; What if he dies? She ran the question over and over in her brain. She would never be able to live without him, she would remember every day that for the sake of three small words, she could have confessed how she truly felt for him. She finally fell asleep much later, completely worn out by the day's events.  
  
Jesse woke with the sunrise, still exhausted. She slowly made her way back through the city to the hospital. She ignored the receptionist and made her way to room 562. James had no doctors surrounding him this time, he just lay in bed, alone. Jesse quietly sat down on a stool at the side of the bed and gazed at her partner. He looked so fragile, so susceptible to the awful things that lay in the outside world. Jesse had never seen him look like that. She stroked the back of his hand as she softly whispered  
  
"I love you James"  
  
Jesse cast her eyes upon his face. Could he hear what she was saying? Had she just imagined his eye fluttering? Was it just the irregularity of his breath or had he just whispered her name?  
  
Jesse snapped back to reality. This man was in a coma, he couldn't possibly respond to her, could he?  
  
The door swung open, it was the brown-haired doctor. "What are you doing here?" she questioned.  
  
"I…I…I'm sorry, I just needed to see him!"  
  
Then, to Jesse's surprise, the nurse smiled. "You obviously care deeply about him. You'll be relieved to know that he's out of danger for the time being. However, he is still very ill, we cannot say when he'll come round, and when he does how badly affected he will be. This wasn't the first time he's received a serious blow to the head was it?" The nurse looked stern "Anyway, you know he's very lucky to be alive. But so far he hasn't shown any sign of response to most stimuli."  
  
"Is there anything I can do?" asked Jesse. She really, really hated feeling helpless.  
  
"I think the best you can do is come and talk to him every day. Even though the tests show him to be unresponsive, nobody can really say for sure what he's aware of."  
  
So Jesse did just that. Every day, for eight days, she sat with James, his hand clasped in hers, telling him about their time together. Each night she took leftover food from the hospital cafeteria back to the cave, and every night she spent hours trying to coax herself into sleep. Every morning she returned and began again. She told James all about when they first met at Pokemon Tech, all about having different friends and hating each other at first, all about coming together and failing the final exam and subsequently joining the bicycle gang and then she told him all about Team Rocket.   
  
On day nine, Jesse was halfway through describing Giovanni, when James's hand feebly squeezed hers. Jesse gasped and said "James?" -He squeezed again- "can you hear me?"-Another squeeze- "Squeeze once for yeas, twice for no, OK?"-One squeeze- "Is your name James?"-One squeeze- "Do you have a pet Pikachu?"-Two squeezes- "Are you a member of Team Rocket?" –One squeeze. Jesse released his hand and ran to the door "Nurse!!" She screamed "Nurse!! Come quickly!"  
  
"What's the matter? Is he getting worse?" asked a blonde-haired nurse whom Jesse hadn't seen before  
  
"No, no, he can hear me!! He responded to me!" Squealed Jesse, unable to contain her elation  
  
"Calm down, calm down" replied the nurse "How did he react to you speaking?"  
  
"He squeezed my hand when I asked him questions, to answer yes or no! He's going to be Ok isn't he? He's going to be fine!"  
  
The nurse regarded Jesse for a moment, as if humouring a child "So you're telling me, that if I hold his hand and you ask him questions, he'll understand and squeeze my hand to give me an answer?"  
  
"Yes, Yes!" said Jesse enthusiastically  
  
"OK, it's worth a try," replied the nurse, sceptically, taking up James's hand. "Ask him something"  
  
"Is your name James?" Asked Jesse. Then, "Did he do anything?"  
  
"He squeezed my hand once. Try something else. It could just be an involuntary muscle spasm"  
  
Jesse looked annoyed, but continued, "Is your name Ash?"  
  
"Two squeezes! I think you were right; he is going to be all right! I'll have a doctor examine him, and we'll keep you updated. I'm afraid it's time for you to leave now"  
  
Jesse was ecstatic. She should have wanted to jump up and down, to scream and shout, to vent her happiness and yet she was oddly sedate. If he had heard her today, had he heard her when she'd said she loved him? That could make a mess of pretty much everything. Did he feel the same way? If he didn't, would it affect their relationship? HAD he heard? Only time would tell…  
  
Jesse walked through the park feeling generally confused. Then she caught sight of three familiar, unwanted faces.  
  
"Oh my gosh, it's Team Rocket!" cried Misty.  
  
"Hey, where's James?" called Ash, whilst Brock just sloped along in between the other two. "Has he finally realised that what you're doing is wrong?"  
  
Jesse ignored them and walked defiantly past with her nose in the air.  
  
"Well, don't just ignore me! That's not at all like you! What's happened, really?" the twerp persisted.  
  
"None of your business brat! Why don't you just leave me alone?"  
  
"Is he hurt?"  
  
"As I said, none of your business!"  
  
"Well…OK…at least you're not trying to capture Pikachu. Or do you need James to give you ideas on how to do it?" Ash laughed, "At least you don't have to do the stupid motto now!"  
  
That touched a nerve with Jesse. The kid was right, in a way. She did need James, not just to say the motto, but he did also help her come up with ideas. Resisting the urge to thwack him to kingdom come, she remained composed and replied "Unlike you and your, ahem, 'friends', I can cope on my own. The whereabouts of James are none of your business and even if you needed to know, I certainly wouldn't tell you!" and with that, she stalked arrogantly away with her head held high, leaving the twerps staring in amazement.  
  
Jesse finally decided to get in touch with The Boss herself as Meowth hadn't bothered to return. She found a public videophone and called the operator to reverse the charges. She dialled Giovanni's number and waited for him to answer.  
  
"Dear Gods Jesse, you look awful!"  
  
Not the opening she had hoped for. Jesse was more than a little taken aback, but then again, she had neglected her appearance while James had been in hospital.  
"Erm… Hi Boss." She began. "Has Meowth reached you yet?"  
  
"He has. He's keeping me company whilst Persian's in the Pokemon centre. He's got a broken paw."  
  
Jesse glanced at the bottom left hand corner of the screen, and sure enough, Meowth was proudly sitting in Persian's usual spot being petted by Giovanni. That two faced little rat! When she got her hands on him, she'd…  
  
"Jesse" the boss interrupted her train of thought "Where's James? Meowth told me he was hurt, but I assumed he would have recovered somewhat by now. You two do seem to have a habit of bouncing back…" he rolled his eyes. Jesse tried to disguise her annoyance. "Anyway, how is he?" Jesse covered up her inner turmoil and soberly replied   
  
"Oh, he's doing fine. The doctors say he should have recovered in a few days."  
  
"Ah, good." Replied Giovanni. "As it happens, the Veridian city Rocket Cabin , just around the corner from the hospital, is vacant at the moment. Butch and Cassidy have just left it, they caught seventeen Pokemon whilst they were there!" Jesse scowled at the names of Butch and Cassidy, the Boss's pets! "You can stay there, get cleaned up and have a good night's rest. You certainly look like you could do with it!"  
  
Jesse ignored the blatant dig at her appearance and gasped. She now had somewhere decent to stay! The rocket Cabins were well-equipped homes situated in the main cities throughout the world, offering a place to stay for TR members who couldn't afford a hotel, or needed accommodation at short notice. They had a bathroom and three comfortable bedrooms. The Veridian one even had a fireplace in the living room. The cabins also kept spare, clean uniforms.  
  
"Thank you Boss" she replied in tones unusually grateful for her.   
  
"Not a problem. Do keep me updated on his progress won't you?"  
  
"Will do" and she hung up. Jesse walked the 300 yards to the cabin. It was tidy, but smelled suspiciously of Gin. Butch and Cassidy obviously weren't THAT perfect after all. The living room had two couches and a fireplace, and led into the kitchen. Surprisingly, the fridge was fully stocked. Jesse cooked herself some rice and sat down at the small table in the study to eat. She then made a beeline for the bathroom and ran a hot bubble bath, with aromatherapy oils. As the water was running, she glanced into the mirror and battled to restrain a scream as she saw her face, her perfection! Her eyes were sunken and had huge dark circles around them, her skin was a similar hue to compacted snow and her cheeks were covered in grime from sleeping in the cave. It was a wonder she'd been allowed into the hospital at all! She curtly turned away from the mirror in disgust. She turned off the taps, peeled off her filthy clothes, and slowly, blissfully, sank into the hot, bubbly water. A huge, world-weary sigh emanated from within her as she slowly began to relax.  
  
Back at the hospital, James continued to dream. He dreamt once again about the red-haired woman. He noticed that although she was often mean to the blue-haired man, it was only when he'd done something stupid. James could tell that these two people, whoever they were, cared deeply about each other. In his comatose state, he didn't understand why these two people had hidden their true feelings from each other. Recently however, his dreams had been infiltrated by the sound of the red-haired woman speaking, saying "I love you James". Suddenly, it all made sense, HE was James, he was the blue-haired man, and the red-haired woman was called Jesse, she loved him and he loved her more than words could express. "Jesse!" he cried out. "JESSE! JESSE! JESSE!"  
  
The doctors stared on as he frantically tossed and turned in his state of delirium, drifting in and out of consciousness. They had given him the highest dose of the most powerful sedative they had, they had no other way of helping him.  
  
Jesse slipped into a clean, cotton nightshirt she had found in a wardrobe and sat by the fire in order to dry her hair. Something, however, didn't feel right. She had an awful, gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach that had nothing to do with the rice. She went to the clothes closet and pulled out a clean uniform. She fastened her jacket, adjusted her skirt and pulled on her boots before leaving the cabin. The air was silent and freezing, the sky was cloudless and the stars were shining. It was a beautiful, peaceful winter's night. Jesse's mind however was far from peaceful as she walked round to the hospital. Without hesitation, she approached the hospital and pushed open the doors. She sprinted up the stairs to room 562. This time, there were doctors surrounding James. "What's happened? Is he OK?" Jesse asked, panicked, even though she knew the answer  
  
"He's taken a turn for the worse, I'm afraid. I dreadfully sorry to be so blunt with you, but we doubt he's going to see the break of dawn."  
  
"No" whispered Jesse, shaking her head with her voice trembling almost as much as her body "NO!" she screamed "You can't let him die! You have to help him!"  
  
"I'm sorry, we've done all we can." Replied the doctor, practically devoid of emotion  
  
"No, you bastard! Help him, please! He's all I have!" by this point, Jesse was hysterical. She had tears streaming down her red face and she was shaking even more violently than before.  
  
"There's no more we can do. You can stay with him tonight if you wish. The other doctors and I will check on him every two hours throughout the night. But I must warn you, he may be delirious." With that, the doctors left Jesse alone with the man she loved. She pulled up an armchair next to his bed and sat in silence, clasping his hand, mentally urging him to be all right. The doctors came and went three times before Jesse finally fell into an uneasy slumber as the night sky began to pale into dawn.  
  
The following morning, the bright winter sun dancing on her eyelids awakened Jesse. It took her a few seconds to realise where she was, and a further few seconds to notice somebody stroking her hair.  
  
"You've got three seconds to get your hands off me!" she threatened.  
  
"Well, good morning sunshine!" a very croaky but very familiar voice replied.  
  
"James?" Jesse optimistically questioned as she turned to face him and saw her partner, still hooked up to the various machines, smiling benignly. "Oh my God! James!" she squealed, unable to control herself, her eyes brimming with tears, she threw her arms around him.  
  
"Ooohh, be gentle!" James croaked, hugging her back as best he could, with tubes sticking out of his arms. His eyes filled with tears as he whispered "I love you Jesse"  
  
Jesse pulled slightly away, shocked. "Did you…"  
  
"…hear every word that you said? Yes, I did" He smiled knowingly "Thank you. I don't know exactly what happened to me, or what was going on around me, all I know is that you were always there for me. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am to you for that. I love you Jesse, every part of me loves every part of you. You are the reason I live and I just hope you feel the same way.  
  
Jesse, unable to speak, simply nodded. As she composed herself, she placed James's hand gently on her chest and whispered "Even my heart beats for you. I adore you. You mean more than the world to me, you are my world."  
  
The two sat in a beautiful, loving silence until a doctor came to check on James. "Amazing" breathed the doctor "it's like a miracle, he's made a fantastic recovery. We'll keep him overnight for observation, but he should be able to go home tomorrow." The doctor smiled at James and left. A nurse entered with a tray. It had on it some sort of nondescript green mush on a plate with white rice.  
  
"What is that?" Asked James, wrinkling his nose in disgust  
  
"Vegetable casserole. Now eat up, you need to get some strength back.  
  
"I'd rather be in a coma" James muttered to Jesse, who giggled. The nurse set the tray down on James's lap, rolled her eyes, and left. James prodded the rice with a fork. "You know, I'm not sure that this is dead!" He grinned at Jesse, who announced  
  
"I'm going out for a minute, enjoy your breakfast, if you can call that food" she kissed him on the forehead and walked out, ignoring his words of protest.  
  
Jesse returned 20 minutes later, to find James with an uneaten pile of slop still on the tray. She was carrying a bunch of roses and a plastic bag.  
  
"Oh, you came back to me then?" huffed James in mock anger.  
  
"I thought the room needed brightening up" she replied, arranging the flowers in a vase on his bedside cabinet. She then turned around and caught James trying to peek into the bag. "No looking!"she teased.  
  
"Please" James looked at her through big, clear, emerald eyes.  
  
"Well…"  
  
"Go on!"  
  
"OK then. Ta daa!" she exclaimed, pulling out a box of 6 jelly donuts.  
  
"Oh yes! Thank you!" cried James as she handed the box to him, grinning wickedly. James demolished five donuts in as many minutes, Jesse ate one and the box was empty. "That was so good!" James breathed, licking his fingers. "Now can you please tell me how I came to be here? I'd like to know why I ended up in hospital…"  
  
So Jesse recounted the battle with the twerps. They then spent the rest of the day reminiscing about their past together, until a nurse came in and announced the end of visiting hours. Jesse kissed James tenderly and promised to return first thing tomorrow so that they could leave.  
  
She skipped back to the cabin like a carefree five year old, which was just how she felt. She went straight to bed and for the first time in two weeks, she slept soundly for the night.  
  
Jesse awoke at 7am, dressed and went to the hospital. However, room 562 was empty. James was gone. The roses were gone, the bed linen had been changed. She ran back to reception, confused. "Where is he?" she demanded  
  
"Who?" the receptionist asked  
  
"The patient, James, from room 562!"  
  
"Oh, he was discharged about 45 minutes ago"  
  
"Did you see which was he went?"  
  
"No, he just walked out, carrying a bunch of roses."  
  
"Right. Thanks." And then, inaudibly, "for nothing"  
  
Jesse turned her back on the receptionist and left the building. There was no one else outside. Jesse looked around, panicked. Then she noticed a rose petal on the floor. She walked over to it, glanced briefly at it, then caught sight of another one 2 metres ahead of it. She had a hunch about how to find James…  
  
She followed the roses past the hospital, round the block and up the driveway of the Rocket Cabin. She opened the door and noticed a single rose lying in the living area. The fire was roaring, even though she hadn't left it burning. Tongue firmly in cheek, she followed the petals down the hallway into the biggest bedroom where she found James (fully clothed) sat on the bed, a single red rose held to his cheek.  
  
"The doctors said I was fine to leave" his innocently explained.  
  
"Idiot! I was worried to death!" Jesse attempted to appear angry and failed miserably. James grinned devilishly and Jesse knew immediately what they were going to do. She walked over to him and sat on his knee, giggling.  
  
"The doctors say I should avoid strenuous exercise for a few days, so be gentle!" he pleaded, having removed his gloves. He moved on to unfastening Jesse's jacket, and she did the same to him. They both grinned, devilish grins, with obvious carnal longing behind them.  
  
"I'll see what I can do" she whispered, as they united two people within their nation for the first time…  
  
TO BE CONTINUED…  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. 

A thin shaft of sunlight shone into the bedroom through a small parting in the curtains. The light reflected on James' sleek lavender hair as he stirred slightly and lazily opened one eye. He blinked as the past few days, or what he remembered of them, came back to him.  
  
They had been blasted off, he remembered that. He remembered the oncoming tree, thinking "Oh shit", then there was blackness, with only voices and dreams. He definitely remembered making love last night. He glanced down and caught sight of a devastatingly beautiful red haired woman sleeping peacefully next to him. He remembered being with her last night, but he didn't have a clue who she was! James sat up and got out of bed, quick as lightning. He'd taken advantage of a beautiful young woman and he didn't even know her name! He desperately racked his brains, searching for some clue to her personality, but he found nothing. The girl began to stir.  
  
Jesse rubbed her eyes and yawned. She blinked several times until she finally got James into focus.   
  
"Good morning!" She sighed and smiled at him but was taken aback by his panicked expression. "James?" She sat up "What's wrong?"  
  
She obviously knew who he was but that was besides the point. He fidgeted nervously   
  
"I…I'm so sorry miss! I honestly don't know what came over me…I….I didn't mean to take advantage!"  
  
Jesse giggled "Stop being so stupid, come back to bed"  
  
"How can I sleep with you, I don't know who you are!" he hadn't noticed quite how loud his voice had become.  
  
Jesse sat up and got out of bed. James turned away as she slipped into her pink silk dressing gown.  
  
"James, you've seen me naked before, you don't need to turn away" Jesse spoke with a slight hint of annoyance.  
  
"You don't understand! I don't know who you are!" James had never felt more frustrated "Don't you get it?"  
  
"James! Stop it now! It isn't funny anymore!"  
  
"You think I'm joking?"  
  
Jesse noticed that James had tears in his eyes. Her first instinct was to comfort him, but a thought occoured to her. What had the doctor said when he was in hospital? That they couldn't say if he'd come round, and when he did, how badly affected he'd be. Her breath caught in her throat. It couldn't be, it just couldn't. Surely he couldn't forget who she was? Surly there was no amnesia bad enough to do that to him?  
  
"James, I'm Jesse" her voice was soft and afraid "We went to school together, we're in Team Rocket together. You have to remember!"  
  
"No, I'm sorry, I don't remember anything! I don't know who you are!"  
  
Jesse resolved not to panic. Everything would be alright, they were the indelible Team Rocket, nothing like this could possibly happen to them. Everything would be fine, it had to be. She racked her brains, searching for anything that would bring his memory back. There was only one thing that sprung to mind at the moment and she hated doing it alone. She hadn't done it alone since James had been kidnapped by the ghost of Maiden's Peak…  
  
"Prepare for trouble!"  
  
James looked blankly at her. Jesse continued  
  
"Make it double! To protect the world from devastation, to unite al peoples within our nation, to denounce the evils of truth and love, to extend our reach to the stars above, Jesse-" She hesitated "You would say 'James' here, but anyway, Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light, surrender now or prepare to fight"  
  
She was more than a little disheartened that James obviously didn't remember any of it, but nonetheless asked  
  
"Do you remember that?"  
  
"No, I actually though it was pretty dumb."  
  
Jesse gasped "But that's our motto! We do it with more style than anybody else, in Team Rocket or otherwise!"  
  
"Team Rocket?" James looked confused. Jesse almost had a heart attack. There was no way in hell that James could forget Team Rocket, amnesia or no amnesia. But still, she persevered and for the rest of the morning, she told James everything about their time together, searching for the all-important trigger that would bring his memory back. She tried donuts, roses, her own perfume, photographs, clothes, his beloved bottle cap collection and the Pokemon they still had with them, Arbok, Weezing, Lickitung and Victreebell. Nothing brought back anything to James, not even when his Victreebell tried to eat him.   
  
Jesse figured that exposing James to the outside world might help him to regain at least some of his memory. They dressed separately which gave them both a chance to think. James racked his brains torturously, searching for any information about his life leading up to losing his memory but found nothing whilst Jesse tried not to cry as she realised that the man she loved was now no more than a stranger to her. She rubbed her eyes as she ran worst-case scenarios through her brain.  
  
The pair walked down the driveway of the cabin past the hospital and into the park. They tried to make jokes like old times but their laughter was empty and hollow. They walked into a small café where Jesse bought two doughnuts and two glasses of lemonade.  
  
"Mmmm! This is good! What did you say it was called?" Questioned James with a mouthful of doughnut.  
  
"That's a doughnut. It is-was, sorry-your favourite food"  
  
"I can understand that! This is delicious!"  
  
Jesse smiled. She loved to see him happy. Him losing his memory had given him a new, endearing innocence. But Jesse would happily sacrifice this and everything else she loved just to have her old James back. A single tear trickled down her cheek. James looked startled, then reached over to wipe it away.  
  
"Don't cry Jenny! You are so beautiful! I know I'll remember you soon…"  
  
"Jesse! My name is Jesse!" She yelled, with tears streaming down her face. She shoved her chair backwards and ran out of the café. She knew that was no way to behave, but she was way past caring. She had lost her James. She had nothing without him. She was completely empty. Why couldn't he remember? Jesse wondered if she should let Giovanni know what was happening, but she instantly dismissed this idea. If he knew about James' condition, he might kick him off the team, and that didn't bear thinking about. Understanding as he had been recently, Jesse knew how unpredictable Giovanni could be. She had all but lost James, she wasn't about to risk not being allowed to work with him anymore. Jesse stumbled into the park and slumped heavily onto a bench. She observed her surroundings and noticed that this was the same bench she had sat on only a few days ago. She remembered how she had felt; alone, vulnerable and much as she denied it to herself, she had been afraid. Afraid of losing James, afraid of being alone, afraid to face the world by herself. Ever since her mother had disappeared, James was the only person Jesse had loved. If she lost him, she knew for sure that she would never love again. She could never risk the pain of losing another loved one. He had to get his memory back, but how? For once, Jesse was at a loss.  
  
James threw a random sum of money onto the tables and ran out of the café in pursuit of Jesse. She couldn't have gotten far, but she was fast and intelligent and the street was crowded.  
  
"JESSE!!! WHERE ARE YOU?" He screamed, running through the streets, pushing past all of the other pedestrians and ignoring the dodgy looks that people were giving him. He searched down every street he came across. At every corner, he was sure he recognised where he was, but the familiarity faded almost as soon as it came. He ran and ran, becoming more and more frustrated. He didn't know how long he searched for, but his quest came to a halt when he caught sight of a beautiful redheaded woman slumped on a bench. James ran to her and threw his arms around her. Jesse was shocked for a fraction of a second, then she grabbed James and held him tightly as if he were the most precious thing in the world which, to her, he was. Jesse wasn't crying, she had done enough of that recently, but she nonetheless buried her face in James' jacket. She hugged him and, still holding him, she lifted her head and smelled his hair. It smelled of his lavender shampoo, the same one he always used because it made his hair shinier than any other. Jesse hated being the only one who knew every silly little detail about both of them. She realised that James was dependant upon her and she couldn't cope with that responsibility. She concluded that she had tortured herself enough in her search for how to bring back James' memory. It was time to start from scratch.  
  
As they strolled arm in arm back to the cabin, Jesse thought about the defining characteristics of Team Rocket, or at least their division of it. What made them special? Naturally the first thing that came to mind was their fashion sense. So, Jesse spent the evening demonstrating to James their various disguises. She noticed very little positive response from him until ten PM. He had just tried on his old officer Jenny costume and was admiring himself in the mirror, when he squealed.  
  
"Ooohh, I look so GOOD in a skirt! This one especially flatters my calves, and the buttons on the shirt bring out my eyes, don't you agree Jes?"  
  
Jesse was ecstatic. That was the James se remembered! He always loved dressing up in women's clothing. Of course, the only reason that she always let him be the woman when they put on their disguises was because she secretly loved the sight of him in a skirt.  
  
"You always look fantastic to me James" she sighed.  
  
Finally, at a quarter to eleven, Jesse decided to call it a day. James' obvious interest in cross dressing was encouraging, but there was still a long way to go. She decided that tomorrow she would teach James about what he used to love doing the most; eating. She had bought doughnuts, éclairs and lemonade earlier that day and she could see it snowing lightly outside. Everything was going to plan.  
  
Jesse awoke first the next morning. She went outside and collected a bucketful of snow, then set to work setting the table. James shuffled out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes, just as Jesse set the final plate on the table.  
  
"What's this Jesse?" asked James suspiciously eyeing up the spread.  
  
"It's all of the things you used to love eating. Donuts, éclairs, lemonade, and those.." she said, gesturing to a pile of melting white blobs "Are snow rolls like mamma used to make. But mamma's not here so I made them!" She looked proud as James sat sown to eat. As he munched his way through an éclair, a fleeting memory cam to him…  
  
He, Jesse and some sort of cat Pokemon were tied to a tree. There was a picnic blanket on the floor, surrounded by tinyturtle Pokemon. James was complaining "They're eating all the jelly doughnuts and éclairs!"  
  
But the memory faded almost as soon as it had come. However, James found that almost every new experience he had that morning gave him another fragment of memory. He was beginning to piece together bits of his time with Jesse. But there was still a long, long way to go before he was his old self.  
  
Jesse didn't say anything, she had spent half an hour throwing up that morning and she was looking decidedly pale. She put it down to fatigue and felt sure she'd feel better after a few hours rest.  
  
That afternoon they went on another walk through the park. They didn't do much walking as Jesse was on the verge of fainting after half an hour. James picked her up and gently carried her to a bench. The air was unseasonably warm and most of the snow from the previous night had already melted. Jesse leaned against James and he wrapped an arm around her as she clasped his hand. Jesse felt awful. She had a horrible, nauseous feeling in her stomach and she was exhausted. She also couldn't understand why she had suddenly lost all desire for the foods she used to love. Much as she thought about it, the only solution she could think of was exhaustion. She had been through a lot, more than she could humanly cope with-much as she denied it to herself- and she realised that she probably wouldn't feel much better until James regained his memory, but there was no telling how long that would be.  
  
After about an hour they concluded that heading back to the cabin would be a good idea so they set off, Jesse leaning on James for support. As they walked past the pokemart, three familiar kids and a Pikachu walked out.  
  
"It's Team Rocket!" Misty yelled shrilly. Her voice cut through Jesse like a knife and she shuddered. James however, stared at the twerps with recognition. Jesse had never mentioned them to him in the past couple of days but yet, he felt almost as if he knew them. James thought….yes, he did know them! James staggered and almost fell over as a lifetime of memories flooded back to him. He remembered everything, Team Rocket, Jesse, Growlie, his life, their time together, the twerps, everything! He was so overcome that he grabbed Jesse and held her in a passionate kiss. She resisted for two seconds, then realised what had happened and kissed him back.  
  
"Er…we'll just be going then" Ash sounded awkward as the twerps edged away.  
  
After three minutes they came up for air. Jesse had tears in her eyes but she looked happier than James had ever seen her. They didn't say anything, but they each understood perfectly what the other was feeling. Jesse's face suddenly fell and she began to sway like a bellsprout. James caught her and carried her back to the cabin. Even though it was only 8 pm when they arrived, the two of them went straight to bed. James waited until Jesse had fallen asleep before he lay down, his mind buzzing with thousands of memories.  
  
The following morning he awoke to the sound of Jesse heaving in the bathroom. He cringed sympathetically and walked in on her, doubled over the toilet bowl. He held back her hair and gently rubbed her back, feeling completely helpless. When Jesse finally stopped throwing up, she turned to him, pale and shaking.  
  
"God morning" Jesse attempted cheerfulness, which somehow didn't work as she feebly smiled at him. James hugged her tightly.  
  
"Jesse, you're not well, I can't just stand by and watch you suffer! I know you've not been right for a couple of days now, I'm worried about you. We need to get you checked out by a doctor."  
  
"No James, I'm fine, honestly. I don't need to see a doctor, I'm just tired. I'll be fine in a couple of days." Jesse's tone was resolute and James knew better than to argue with her. Tiredness seemed a feasible enough explanation, one which Jesse managed to use every day for two weeks. After 14 days however, James could take no more. Jesse was throwing up after every meal and had no energy. James finally cracked one morning as Jesse returned from the bathroom.  
  
"Right Jesse, that's it. Get your coat, we're going to the hospital. You can't talk your way out of it this time, you aren't well and you need medical attention!" James flinched, anticipating being hit with some random item that Jesse would undoubtedly pull out of nowhere. This time however, Jesse was too weak to argue. She merely nodded and pulled on her jacket. As they walked to the hospital she had to lean on James for support.  
  
Jesse went into the examining room alone leaving James perched on the edge of a seat with his head in his hands. The waiting room was empty and silent except for the maddening ticking of the clock. James had no idea how long he sat there for, but every minute felt like a century. Every illness he had ever heard of ran through his brain. It had to be something really bad, because Jesse never got ill. He didn't notice the silent tears trickling down his face as he prayed that Jesse would be alright.  
  
After what felt like several millennia, the doctor came into the waiting room. His eyes were cast down onto the floor and he looked deadly serious. James could take the waiting no longer  
  
"How is she?"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED  
  
  



	3. 

  
The story so far: Jesse and James were blasted off and they landed, James receiving a blow to the head and ending up in a coma in hospital. He recovered after a few days and the pair finally confessed their love for each other. Jesse and James untied two people within their nation but James woke up with amnesia. He regained his memory after a brief encounter with the twerps. Jesse has been ill for about two weeks and James has taken her to the hospital. James is sat in the waiting room in anticipation of the doctor's verdict  
*******  
James stared at the doctor, awaiting his reply. Suddenly, the doctor smiled at him. "Come through to the cubicle with me. I think she may want to be the one to tell you why she's been so sick." James looked confused but followed the doctor into the cubicle. The curtains were pulled across so the adjacent beds were obviously occupied. James saw Jesse perched on the edge of the bed and immediately wrapped her up in a bear hug.  
  
"Oh, Jesse! How are you? How do you feel? I was so worried! When will you be better?" Jesse shrugged and replied   
  
"I'd give it about eight and a half months. You might want to sit down James." He conceded and sat next to her. "Doctor" Jesse asked, "Will you tell him please?" James' face reflected his puzzlement as the doctor walked around to face them. He beamed at the pair of them.  
  
"Congratulations. You're going to be a daddy." James' eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he stared at Jesse  
  
"You're pregnant?! We're going to be parents? Oh my God!! This is…this is…" but Jesse cut him off.  
  
"James, it sucks! I'm going to get fat and ugly! And I don't want a baby! All that they do is cry and make a mess and stink!"  
  
********  
  
In the next cubicle, Cassidy strained her ears as she tried to listen to the conversation. Jesse was pregnant? That was too perfect! Giovanni hated Team Rocket members to so much as hug each other. A pregnancy was a one-way ticket to being fired. She grinned smugly as the doctors bandaged her sprained wrist. Butch eyed her suspiciously. He obviously hadn't heard what she had. "What are you so happy about?"  
  
"Wait and see Butch, wait and see."  
  
******  
Jesse and James walked back to the cabin arm in arm. Jesse had been given pills for the morning sickness and she felt rather dazed. James was obviously ecstatic, but said very little on the walk back.  
  
They spent the evening curled up in front of the fire. Jesse's hands rested on her abdomen and James protectively laid his hands on top. He nuzzled her and kissed her hair, then her cheek, but she didn't respond, she just stared blankly into the flames. "Jesse? What's wrong? You're being so quiet…it's just not like you."  
  
"James. We're going to be parent."  
  
"I know! Isn't it amazing! You are going to be a fantastic mother!"  
  
"James, we're not ready! Don't you see? Our lives are going to change so much!"  
  
"Hmm. I suppose we'll have to quit our jobs. Team Rocket is too dangerous for you in this condition. You can't possibly-"  
  
"James, what the hell are you talking about? When my mum had me she was working right up to the day before I was born!"  
  
"But that was under madam boss! You know how Giovanni can get-"  
  
"Giovanni doesn't have to find out."  
  
"What the…Jesse, you're pregnant, remember?" Jesse snorted and rolled her eyes.  
  
"As if I could forget! I'm not going to start showing for a few months, which'll give us time to think, and I can probably hide it, and we're owed vacation time...and…and" Jesse trailed off and turned away from James, tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"Oh, Jesse! Don't cry, please don't, everything is fine! I'm here, you're here and that's all that matters. We're going to be fine and we'll be wonderful parents!" James tried to hug her but she shoved him away.  
  
"You don't get it do you James? I don't want this baby! I'm only eighteen! I'll be a terrible mother anyway, and babes are horrible and I really don't want to be pregnant..." Jesse was unable to continue, she was crying so hard. James clasped her hands in his and stared deep into her eyes.  
  
"Jesse, listen to me. You will be an amazing mother, babies are a blessing, you will always be the most beautiful thing on earth to me and I'm here for you. We have each other and that's all that matters." Jesse wiped her eyes and nodded.  
  
"You're right, I just need to try and make the best of it." James grinned at her.  
  
"You'll feel a lot better in a few weeks anyway, remember; three months dreary, three months cheery three months weary." Jesse pulled a paper fan out of nowhere and hit him hard over the head with it  
  
THREE MONTHS LATER  
  
Jesse was now almost four months along. She looked fantastic, her skin was practically glowing, she was so radiant. She was slightly rounder on her midriff, but James had never seen her so active as she had been for the last couple of weeks. Of course, she was eating like a horse to make up for it. The only thing that was beginning to grate on James' nerves a little was that the cabin was never clean enough for her. "Jesse. Relax, that's the third time today that you've dusted the front room! You shouldn't be over exerting yourself, sit down a while!" He looked anxious.  
  
"But James, I don't want to raise children in a filthy environment! I need to clean up in here!" James glanced around the spotless cabin and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Well, if you say so, but I think you should be slowing down a little and…hey! Are those my trousers?" Jesse blushed slightly  
  
"Erm…yeah…my skirt's getting tight." She flung herself onto his lap "But anyway, enough about me. How are you today hun?"  
  
"Er…" James was a little stuck for words. This three months cheery thing had gone to Jesse's head in a BIG way. "We need to go shopping for food Jess, We've got about an apple to live on."  
  
"Fine! Let's go now!" Jesse jumped up and practically dragged James from the sofa into town. They bought enough food to see them through the week and were just beginning to walk back when Jesse squealed "Ooohh! Look at that maternity dress! Isn't it *fantastic*!" James didn't get much of a look at it before he was dragged into the shop. He loved shopping for women's clothes even though Jesse hated it, or at least she used to. Today however, they spent two hours trying on maternity clothes before she finally decided on the outfits she wanted.  
  
As they walked home with their shopping bags, they kept a loving silence between them. Spring was in the air as they walked through the woods. Jesse squeezed James' hand as she watched a female Nidoran gently nudge a tiny baby Nidoran blinking into the sunlight. Jesse's eyes sparkled as she watched the beauty of nature coming into bloom. Her left hand drifted subconsciously over her abdomen and she smiled serenely. However the beauty of the moment was rudely disturbed by two horribly familiar voices.  
  
2To infect the world with devastation!"  
  
"To blight all peoples in every nation"  
  
James stood behind Jesse, his arms draped protectively around her. "What do you two want?" He sighed. Butch glanced James up and down and sneered  
  
"I hear someone's been a busy boy James" He smirked.  
  
""What do you mean?" James queried, confused  
  
"We heard you in the hospital. You knocked Jesse up and now the two of you are trying to act all innocent, like nothing's happened. You make me sick, what would Giovanni say?" Cassidy wrinkled her nose in disgust at them. Jesse was horrified. "No, Cass, you wouldn't, please! I can't put my job at stake…. at least not yet. Please Cassidy, don't tell him!" Jesse's pleading tones and the tears falling down her cheeks did nothing to soften Cassidy's harsh smirk.  
  
"Watch your back Jess." She sneered. She and Butch turned and walked curtly away, Jesse and James staring after them. Once they were out of earshot, Jesse whispered "Oh, god" and promptly collapsed. James caught her and laid her gently down on the grass. She sat up and threw her arms around him, shaking violently and sobbing.  
  
"Oh my god, James they can't do that! They can't tell Giovanni, he'll split us up! James, I can't lose you! And we'll lose our jobs! How can we bring up a family when we have no jobs? We'll have to have the baby adopted and-" James pressed a finger to her lips. He gazed into her eyes and ran his thumbs gently across her cheeks to remove the tears. He stroked her scarlet hair and spoke softly to her.  
  
"Hush Jesse. Nothing is going to happen to us and I don't *ever* want to hear you suggest that we give up our child, NEVER suggest such things! There is no force on earth that could possibly split us up, not even Giovanni! We're together forever, you understand?" Jesse nodded. James swept her up off her feet and pretended to stagger "Whoa, you've put some weight on Jess!" She responded by thwacking him with her largest shopping bag and giggling, but her laughter sounded hollow. She was more distressed by Butch and Cassidy's threat than she wanted to let James know.  
  
Jesse curled up on the couch back at the cabin, staring into the fireplace whilst James cooked dinner. Her face reflected her inner turmoil and the sparkle in her eye was somewhat duller than usual. James had never seen her look this way and had never felt the agony e felt to watch Jesse torture herself like this. But he prepared and served dinner whilst acting as normally as possible.  
  
ONE MONTH LATER  
  
Jesse was now five months along and was certainly showing. Jesse was still "cheery" but ever-present fear of if and when Butch and Cassidy would go to the boss was doing a good job of putting a damper on Jesse's happiness.   
  
It was nighttime. Jesse was taking a bath and James was decorating the nursery. The last month had been quite eventful for them. They had been extremely lucky in finding their own apartment in Viridian city. James had spent almost every penny he owned on the apartment, but he had been quite adamant that his family was not going to be brought up in a Rocket Cabin. So, they now owned a pleasant, three bedroomed apartment on the outskirts of the city. As they didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl, James had mixed the blue and pink paints together, so the nursery was a pastel lilac shade. He was in the middle of hanging the curtains (1 pink, 1 blue) when there was a knock at the door. James wiped his hands on the back of his distressed denim dungarees and set down the nails he was holding. The knock came again, more impatiently this time. "OK, OK, I'm coming!" James yelled. Jesse left the bathroom just as he walked past. She was wearing a scarlet bathrobe and her hair was wrapped in a white towel. She sat on the couch and picked up her newest book on parenting. James brushed her cheek gently as he walked past her. He opened the door and Meowth stormed into the living room  
  
"Oh, dat Persian really makes me mad! Da boss sent me packing when da big cat finally came back from da pokemon centre!" He caught sight of Jesse "Wha-? Jesse! Yous really let yaself go since da last time I saw ya! You are FAT!"  
  
James covered his eyes, anticipating the inevitable blow to Meowth, nut he waited a few seconds and nothing happened so he peeked through a crack in his fingers. He was surprised to see Jesse apparently ignoring Meowth and staring, wide-eyed, at her bump. She had both hands over her abdomen and her face reflected surprise and joy. James was instantly by her side. "Jess?" he was breathless "What is it? Is something wrong?" His eyes frantically darted from her face to her stomach and back again.  
  
"Shh! James, calm down! Give me your hand." He trustingly extended his left hand and Jesse gently laid it flat over her womb. James concentrated for a few second, then exclaimed  
  
"I can feel it moving! Oh, Jesse, that's our baby!" Meowth stared at him.  
  
"WHAT?!? Jesse's gonna have a BABY!? She neva seemed like da type…Sheesh, I leave you two alone for six months and dis is what happens!" Jesse smiled benignly  
  
"I don't really think you could've stopped us Meowth."  
  
"Probably not. How far along is yous anyways?"  
  
"Five months and one week"  
  
"That's all? I tought you was more den dat Jesse! You is BIG, Jesse!" Jesse drew herself up to her full height and stood over Meowth.  
  
"Are you saying I'm fat?" Jesse pulled a mallet out of nowhere and looked poised to hit Meowth. James swiftly placed himself between the pair of them.  
  
"Jesse! Sit down! Remember your blood pressure. Now calm down and, don't take this the wrong way, but you are...err..."  
  
"What?" Jesse sounded more than a little vexed. James sweatdropped and managed to stutter.  
  
"Well, you are….erm…kinda…a little....maybe…erm…bigger...than you….perhaps…should...be" Jesse looked down and much to James' surprise, didn't hit him. She merely shrugged and sighed  
  
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I'll ring the hospital and try to book a scan. James, why didn't you mention it when you first noticed? I wouldn't have minded! It is our baby after all and I want what's best for it!" She hugged James and walked off to call the hospital.  
  
"Right, dat's it! I've had enough of you two love boirds, I'm goin' ta bed!" Meowth jumped up onto an armchair in the corner of the room and fell asleep. James slumped down onto the sofa peeling the pint from underneath his fingernails. Jesse walked back into the living room and snuggled up next to him. James wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly.  
  
"I've got an appointment for a scan with Doctor Proctor tomorrow at two pm. Will you come with me?" James rubbed her shoulders.  
  
"Of course! What a silly thing to ask Jess!" She nuzzled her head into his neck. After a few minutes of sitting there in peaceful harmony, James realised that Jesse sleeping. Instead of disturbing her, James let her rest. He shuffled into a recumbent position with Jesse's head resting on his chest and slowly fell asleep to the soothing, rhythmic sound of Jesse's breathing.  
  
James was awoken at 11 am. Jesse was in the dining room tucking into a 30-strong stack of pancakes. She was still eating more than twice as much as she usually did and they needed to go food shopping every week instead of every month. James grinned to see Jesse look so happy and picked up an apple. As he bit into it, the phone rang. He went to answer it, but Meowth got there first. James heard him speaking for a few seconds, and then Meowth entered the kitchen. "It's dat kid. What's his name, erm...Mono? Mandy? Morris?"  
  
"Mondo?"  
  
"Yeah, him. He wants to speak to yous twos now, he says it's real urgent!" Jesse and James rose simultaneously and walked together to the entrance hall. They sat down in front of the videophone screen.  
  
"Hi Mondo" They chorused in unison. The poor kid couldn't tell how badly they were patronising him.  
  
"Hi…erm..." Mondo turned beetroot at the sight of Jesse in her dressing gown and then turned a fetching shade of Maroon as he noticed the obvious bump on her usually slender midriff. He composed himself and continued, "What have you two DONE? Giovanni's furious! He wants to see you today at two o clock sharp!" Jesse clasped James' hand. He put his other arm around her back to hold her upright. All the blood had drained from her face. She didn't say anything, but James could tell there were only two words on her mind: - Butch and Cassidy.   
  
"Tell the boss that we'll be there at three thirty and not before." James curtly said and hung up before Mondo could protest. He turned to Jesse who had her head in her hands. He gently rubbed her back and she looked up. She wasn't crying, but her face was an image of desperation.  
  
"Butch and Cassidy have told him. He's going to split us up James, he's going to split us up, and we'll be sacked. We'll have no money and we won't have each other." Jesse's tone scared James. She spoke softly, but her voice had a desperation, and urgency that chilled James to the bone. Jesse stared straight ahead through glassy eyes, her finger trailing lightly, aimlessly across her abdomen. James struggled to restrain his feeling and managed to choke out  
  
"Jesse. Stop it, please. Giovanni can't split us up, and there is nothing on earth that can! Stop it Jesse, please, you're only giving yourself more stress than you need. Come on, we need to star getting ready if we're going to get to the hospital on time." The pair went to get washed and changed. James was ready first, so he prepared two plates of sushi, one plate had more on it for Jesse, and he placed a saucer of milk on the floor for Meowth. He noticed that Jesse only ate a few mouthfuls. She looked distant and disturbed which James couldn't blame her for, but he had no intention of letting her starve herself. "Jess, what's wrong? You have to eat! I know how bad things look now, but you won't solve anything by hurting yourself. You need to look after yourself even more than usual, for the sake of the baby!"  
  
"Oh, what do you know?" Jesse snarled "I'm just not hungry, get it? And I don't need you clucking over me every minute of the day! Maybe if you ever had to go through pregnancy you'd understand, but you don't and you never will. You're just a typical bloody man!" James turned his back on her so that she wouldn't see the tears in his eyes. Maybe Jesse was right, maybe he had been fussing over her too much, but he had only been trying to make things easier for Jesse. He couldn't help being a man and Jesse was right, he could never understand what she was going through. Jesse instantly realised how much she'd hurt him. Placing one hand gently on his back, she tenderly dried his eyes. James blinked several times, and then smiled feebly at her. "Oh, James, I'm so sorry! I just…snapped, I guess. I'm just worried, well, terrified actually, about what Giovanni is going to do to us, I didn't mean to take it out on you." Jesse cast her eyes to the floor and James saw her furiously trying to blink back tears.  
  
"Ohh, Jesse, you silly girl! Come here" James enveloped her in a bear hug. Jesse hugged back. "You really shouldn't worry yourself this much, it's no good for you and it's no good for the baby. I'm sure it isn't easy for you, but you have to try and relax to take care of yourself." He glanced at the clock on the wall "Come on, it's after half one, we'd better get going. Just remember what I've said, OK? I love you, you're the world to me, and this baby will make our lives complete." James gave Jesse one last squeeze and let her go. Jesse wiped her eyes and tugged on her boots. James pulled his own boots on and they left the apartment. It was now late spring and the air was richly scented with blossom and new flowers as they walked into the city centre. James snaked his arm around Jesse's waist and pulled her in close to him.  
  
They reached the hospital five minutes after their appointment was due to start and were met with a glare from the receptionist. James grimaced apologetically as he caught sight of the other people in the waiting room, but they were ushered almost immediately into the ultrasound room. Jesse lay back on the bed, her stomach fully exposed. James held her hand and started intently at the screen as the doctor performed the scan.  
  
"Well" The doctor began " if you look at the screen there, you'll notice a darker area on the scan. That's baby number two. Congratulations, you're expecting twins."  
  
"RWINS?" Jesse and James chorused in unison. Jesse propped herself up on her elbows to get a good look at the screen. James also stared at the screen, his face portraying an odd balance between shock, terror and ecstasy.   
  
"Oh my god, James, we're having two babies, *two* babies! We didn't exactly plan for one in the first place. James, two babies, oh my gosh." Jesse fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. James; eyes darted between Jesse's face and the screen. He was obviously ecstatic, but before he could say anything, the doctor intervened.  
  
"All parents need time to get over the initial shock of discovering they're expecting twins, but they really are a double blessing. You two obviously care deeply about each other and that love will reflect itself upon your children. I'm sure you will be very good parents." James squeezed Jesse's hand and grinned at her. She squeezed back and looked once more at the screen before the doctor turned the machine off. James glanced at his watch.  
  
"Jesse, it's three o clock, we really need to get to the boss." Jesse nodded. They both shook hands with the doctor and departed. They hurried through the park to Rocket HQ. The guard on the door looked them up and down and sneered   
  
"Ah yes, it's you two. Go right ahead, my boss awaits you." Jesse and James nervously ascended the five flights of stairs to Giovanni's office. His secretary was filing her nails and talking to someone on a headset. She gestured for them to go through. They both shivered as they entered the office hand in hand. Giovanni had his back turned to them, which gave them time to drop hands and look innocent. Jesse looked vaguely normal from the front, except for her trousers. She stood close to James without actually touching him. Giovanni spun smoothly round in his chair and spoke softly to them.  
  
"Jessica and James, I've been expecting you." His face was in shadows. The eyes of the Persian at his left side glinted evilly. Giovanni sneered at them, as he looked them over. "Hardly two of Team Rocket's brightest stars, but that certainly does not provide an excuse for what you have done. I must say, I always had a suspicion that it would only be a matter of time before you two engaged in a relationship, I suppose in a way I was conducting my own little experiment, testing your loyalty to our cause. It never occurred to me that the two of you, especially you Jessica" he glared at her "Would have the ignorance, stupidity and outright audacity to land yourselves in a situation of this magnitude. I suppose that poor old James never did have the intelligence to avoid something like this occurring, but Jesse" He stared her straight in the eyes. A chill ran through her as if she were trapped in the ice beam of an Articuno. "Jessica, I am disgusted with you. You've not only disgraced yourself by allowing this to happen but you've disgraced me, Team Rocket but, worst of all, the memory of your mother. She would turn in her grave if she knew what you had done. The late Miyamoto, greatest Team Rocket member who ever lived, to think that her own daughter could bring such shame to Team Rocket!" Jesse's face paled. She felt a great remorse combined with a great anger surging inside her. The babies moved inside her and it felt like a cold flame licking at the inside of her womb. All that she wanted at the moment was for her children to disappear. She wished with all her heart that the pregnancy had never come to be, but there was no turning back. Tears stung the back of her eyes, but she blinked them fiercely away. She wasn't going to give Giovanni the satisfaction of seeing her upset. Giovanni stroked his Persian and spoke again. "I cannot risk this story being leaked to any outsiders. You have two options Jessica. Either you have the foetus aborted or you server the six month imprisonment as punishment for your foolish actions." Despite the sensitivity of the subject, Giovanni spoke with a heinously perverse ease, as if he put people in situations of this nature everyday. Jesse hung her head and remained silent. James was shocked that she wasn't saying anything, but then he realised that it was finally his turn to do the talking. Jesse had talked the pair of them out of trouble on countless occasions whilst he just stood there like a wimp. He felt an immense strength rise inside himself and allowed his words to flow without considering the implications.  
  
"We refuse. You can't do that. There is no way that Jesse can have an abortion, it's too late anyway. If one of us has to go to prison, you can take me" Jesse stared at him, shaking her head violently in protest but James seemingly ignored her and continued. "I will not allow my children to be born into a jail, without a father. I beg of you, don't take Jesse away. Do what you will with me, but spare her and our babies."  
  
"Babies? More than one?" Giovanni glared at Jesse in disgust, as if it was her fault that she had wound up expecting twins. "This just gets better and better doesn't it Jessica? What James seems to have overlooked however is that Jesse was the one stupid enough to land herself in this much trouble and must therefore be punished appropriately." Giovanni pressed a button on his desk and four uniformed guards entered the room. Two of them grabbed Jesse from behind and began to drag her away. The other two restrained James. Jesse kicked, bit and elbowed the guards but overpowered her and held a cloth doused in chloroform to her nose. James watched as she went limp and thrashed like a man possessed, trying to escape the iron grip of the guards.  
  
"JESSE!" He screamed out to her and summoning all of his strength he managed to break the iron grip of the two burly men holding him. However, the men dragging her took her through a metal door, which slammed in James' face. He banged on the door screaming out her name, in floods of hysterical tears, until he collapsed on the floor, trembling and out of breath.  
  
"You always were pathetic, weren't you James? Quite frankly, the thought of you and Jesse together sickens me, but I feel I must also congratulate you on bedding such a sweet young thing as Jesse. They don't come much finer than her. I just hope that her time inside teaches her a bit about being careful." Giovanni was outwardly insulting the woman James loved. He couldn't bear to hear anybody, especially Giovanni. James clenched his fists, feeling the seething anger building inside him.  
  
"Take those comments back and let her go!" James snarled. Giovanni laughed coldly and smiled at James in mock-sympathy.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry, but I can't let her go, it's Team Rocket regulations. If only you'd been more cautious. Oh well, you'd better run along now before I call my guards to escort you. I doubt that you would find their company very pleasant."  
  
"I'm not leaving without Jesse."  
  
"Don't be so foolish." Giovanni stood up and walked around his desk so that he was face to face with James. "You don't stand a chance of getting her back until six months are over and from the way you're acting she may have her sentence extended."  
  
"You can't do that! That isn't fair!"  
  
"Yes, I can and life itself, my dear James, isn't fair." James could bear it no longer. He drew his fist back and punched Giovanni round the side of the head, catching him off-guard. Giovanni staggered slightly, then growled  
  
"I really don't think you should've done that"  
  
THAT EVENING  
  
James had returned from the meeting with Giovanni with a black eye, a sprained wrist and no Jesse. Meowth held an ice pack to James' eye whilst James recounted the fight between himself and the boss, and lamented about Jesse being locked up. James spent the rest of the evening pacing up and down the living room, ruminating the situation. Meowth had gone for a walk and probably wouldn't return for a few days. James sat up all night until, as the first light of dawn broke at 4 am, James came up with an almost fail safe plan to get Jesse out. He knew that the guards changed every eleven weeks, and they had been changed this week, so that gave him ten weeks of waiting. It was longer than he wanted to leave Jesse for, ten weeks longer that he wanted to leave her on her own, but if the plan worked, he would disguise himself and exploit the changing of the guards as a means of getting her out of that heel hole. He felt an indescribable guilt as he thought about Jesse being alone for so long, and that turned to pain as he realised that he would miss out on a quarter of her pregnancy, the time when she needed him the most, but he tried his best to push such thoughts out of his mind. He also decided upon what he could to for her whilst she was in prison that she'd appreciate.  
  
TWO MONTHS LATER  
  
"She's still not eating? She can't go on like this for much longer. What was Giovanni thinking, locking her up in her condition? I know we're Team Rocket and we shouldn't question his judgement, but we're not heartless, or at least I'm not. How old did you say she was?"  
  
"18, I think" The other guard tutted.  
  
"Poor kid. It must be awful for her. She can't be with the man that she loves and if she carries on at this rate she'll lose her babies too. I feel terrible standing by and watching her suffer like this." The guard lowered his voice. "I slipped some vitamin C into her water. I know I could get kicked out for that, but it'll make her feel a little better. She's sleeping now, we'd better leave her."  
  
Jesse heard the footsteps trailing slowly away from her cell. She had hardly touched a morsel of food since she'd been imprisoned. She knew that that was the worst thing she could possibly do for the babies, but she had no appetite and worst of all, no will to live. She was painfully thin, her normally beautiful, effeminate features gaunt and angular making the large swelling on her abdomen that carried her children seem even larger. She didn't know how long she had been in here for, day and night were indistinguishable in her tiny, windowless cell. She lay on her side and wept for her children. What kind of life would they have, born into this environment? The only thing that kept Jesse going was the tiny glimmer of hope that James might come to save her.  
  
TWO WEEKS LATER  
  
James crept through the shadows dressed in a Team Rocket guard uniform. He had negotiated his way to the prison, now only a few guards lay between him and his beloved. He was obviously in luck, as the night watchman was asleep. He found an inmate's list pinned to a notice board and was delighted to find that Jesse's cell, cell 562, was just around the corner at the end of the corridor he was facing. He managed to creep to her cell unhindered, but was horrified to see two men stood over Jesse's body, which was convulsing violently in a state of delirium. He hung back and listened carefully.  
  
"I'd give her 72 hours as an absolute maximum. The babies will die a few hours after she goes. I hate to lose them so young, especially when they're expecting, but there's no more we can do for her now. At least she's been eating a little for the last week. She's just lost the will to live." The doctor sighed and shook his head solemnly. James let out a barely audible groan. This couldn't be happening, surely Jesse couldn't be so ill that…James couldn't even bring himself to think it. He had to get her out of there. The babies were due in just over a month and a half; he needed to get Jesse back home, where she could recover. One of the doctors whipped around and caught sight of him.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here? You're not on the guard team!" The other doctor made a move for the alarm just outside the cell door. James didn't have a chance to think, he swung his arm round and knocked out the doctor before he reached the door. The other guard pulled out a gun and aimed it at James' head. James kicked the guard in the stomach and as the guard was doubled over in pain James whacked him around the back of the head. He stood string at the crumpled bodies of the two guards, but was distracted by Jesse's voice. She feebly whispered his name and he ran to her. He could see she was suffering, she was painfully thin, she was merely a shadow of the Jesse he had last seen ten weeks ago. She called out his name again. He knelt down next to her and stroked her left cheek.  
  
"Jesse, I'm here, it's OK, everything is going to be fine, I'm taking you back home, I'm sorry I took so long, Jess I'm sorry. I love you so much." Choked by tears James was unable to continue. He grasped Jesse's hand and her eyes met his. James had never seen Jesse look this way before. The omnipresent sparkle was absent from her eyes and her whole face reflected the depth of her depression. They shared a few seconds of silence, then James grabbed the gun from the hand of the unconscious guard and shoved it into the holster on his belt. He picked Jesse up despite her protestations that she could walk by herself. He proved his point by setting her down on the floor and catching her as her knees gave way. He glanced up and down the corridor and seeing it was clear, prayed for a safe escape and ran down the passage. He reached the first flight of stairs but was stopped dead by a horribly familiar voice behind him.  
  
"I suggest you go no further." James spun around and saw Giovanni. He had a gun pointed at Jesse's head. She buried her face in James' jacket and he could feel her trembling. He stroked her hair and hugged her more tightly. James shook his head as he stared at Giovanni.  
  
"You wouldn't" James grimaced slightly as Giovanni's grip tightened on his pistol.  
  
"Oh, I would James, I would. You see, I don't appreciate it when team members play against their own side. I can't stand disobedience, James. Now, I gave you the option and you chose imprisonment. It was your decision, and how do you respond? By trying to break a convict out of prison. That is despicable conduct. I'm disgusted that I ever employed you and now you must be punished." Giovanni lined his pistol up with the centre of James' forehead. James was faster. He pulled out his gun, setting Jesse on the floor with arm around her waist to support her; he blindly shot twice at Giovanni. He opened his eyes and saw the other man grasping his right shoulder. Giovanni collapsed against a wall and James saw his chance. He swept Jesse up in his arms once again and sprinted out of the building. He didn't stop running until he was through the door of the apartment. He laid Jesse gently down on the sofa and threw himself into an armchair. The enormity of what he had just done hit him and his body began convulsing in huge, choking sobs. Jesse stood up and slowly walked across to him, holding onto the sofa for support. She fell into his lap and draped her arms around his neck. She held him close to her, kissed the tears from his eyes and stroked his hair. James hated himself for this display of weakness. Jesse needed his help to recover and get her strength back. They had six weeks left before the babies were due, not very long. James didn't have too much time to dwell on this fact, as they both fell asleep in the armchair within minutes and the next morning they awoke together. They hugged, and Jesse stayed and rested in the chair whilst James prepared breakfast. Before Jesse knew what was happening, the table was laid with cereals, fruit, toast and juices. James had carefully selected foods that wouldn't put too much of a strain on Jesse's stomach. James needn't have worried; Jesse ate enough to feed a small army. He was delighted as he watched her finish off the stack of toast. When she was finally satiated, she flashed James a huge grin and he saw the twinkle return to her eye. He grinned back, but his grin turned to puzzlement as Jesse's face fell.  
  
"Jess? What's the matter? Was it breakfast? Oh, I *knew* I should've checked what you wanted first!"  
  
"James, calm down!" Jesse giggled "It's not really that important, I was just thinking, we've only decorated the nursery for one baby, and then when we find out, we didn't really get a chance to…" She trailed off as she noticed James smirking. "What?"  
  
"Follow me" He held out a hand to her and she took it. He led her to the nursery door. "Eyes shut!" He teased, and took her through the door. "OK, open them." Jesse gasped as she looked around the nursery. There were two new pine cribs with blankets and a purple teddy bear on each. The curtains had been changed to blue and pink vertical stripes and the carpet was pale pink, the ceiling pale blue and the walls lilac. There was a pine rocking chair by the side of each crib and in the corner of the room was a changing table in between a bookcase and a chest of drawers. Jesse turned to James, her eyes sparkling.  
  
"It's just perfect! Thank you James" She kissed his cheek.  
  
"I wanted to surprise you." James shrugged "It was nothing, really. It was driving me insane, being stuck here without you. I had to do something to occupy myself!" Jesse hugged him and as she pressed her body against his, James could feel the babies moving inside Jesse. He rested one hand gently on either side of Jesse's bump and slowly moved his hands round to her back. It was at that moment that he truly realised what was going to happen, they were about to be parents. He felt excited and scared and confused all at the same time, but these were overpowered by an all-conquering love, love for Jesse, love for their unborn children, love of love. They eventually let go of each other. James gazed into Jesse's eyes and knew instantly that she felt the same way.   
  
TWO WEEKS LATER (MID JULY)  
  
James was amazed by how much weight Jesse had put on over the last two weeks. She was eating like a horse and was bigger than ever, her features once again rounded, feminine and beautiful. There was now just under one month until the babies were due to arrive. Jesse was sat in an armchair and James was astounded to see Meowth happily curled up asleep on her lap. He had never seen Jesse look so contented as she did now. Her bump was huge and she seemed to be permanently tired, but she was happy and relaxed. They had just eaten lunch. James was curled up on the sofa reading a romance novel when Jesse said, definitely, "We're going for a walk." James was slightly taken aback, but nonetheless shrugged, nodded and pulled on his sneakers. Jesse did likewise and James gazed at her, amazed by how she always looked stunning without effort. She was heavily pregnant, dressed in baggy denim dungarees and a white T-shirt and her hair was pulled loosely back into a scruffy ponytail. It didn't seem like the most fetching ensemble, but Jesse nonetheless made it look good. James reflected upon how much Jesse had changed over the past few months and yet had stayed the same Jesse. She had mellowed a lot since she became pregnant, her temper was nowhere near as fiery, but she still had more than enough charisma and self-assurance for the two of them.   
  
They walked into the park, arms around each other's waists, in the scorching midsummer heat. Jesse complained "Don't ever let me get pregnant so that the kid's due in late summer! The heat's tiring enough without carrying passengers! I think that the least you can do is but me an ice cream!" James happily obliged and they sat on a grass bank feeding the ice cream to each other. James smeared some all over Jesse's cheek and was licking it off when a high-pitched voice chimed  
  
"It's Team Rocket!" Jesse groaned and she and James turned around to see the twerps standing over them. Brock gaped at Jesse's stomach.  
  
"You're pregnant huh? Hmm, that must mean that you guys have had se…"  
  
"Brock!" Ash cut him off "We get the idea OK? Looks like they won't be trying to steal Pikachu for a while."  
  
"Actually" James interrupted "We don't work for Team Rocket anymore. So we have better things to do with our time than waste it trying to steal your Pikachu. We're just normal people again, basically strangers to you."  
  
"Uh…Ok...well...goodbye then." Ash sounded confused but the three of them walked away, each muttering about how wierded out they'd been. Jesse yawned and snuggled up to James.  
  
"Oh no, c'mon. If you're going to fall asleep then I'm taking you home. I'm not carrying you back from the park right now and…. oh, OK, we'll stay here then." Jesse had fallen asleep. She seemed to be doing a lot of that recently. James concluded that it must be the "three months weary" thing, so he though it best to leave her to sleep. The afternoon sun was pleasant on his face and he drifted off to the sound of birds chirruping in the trees to his side.  
  
Jesse urgently nudging his shoulder awaked him. "James! James! Wake up! It's 4 pm! I've got another scan at 4:15! Wake up!" James jumped up, pulled Jesse up, and they hurried across the park to the Hospital. They were five minutes early but were taken straight to the ultrasound room. Jesse lay back on the bed and James held her hand as the doctor ran the scanner over her abdomen. They watched the screen, fascinated by the tiny human beings displayed on it. The doctor looked slightly concerned  
  
"Hmm. They appear to be a touch underweight." The doctor saw the worried look on James' face and smiled "Oh, it's nothing to be too worried about, I just think you need to be eating a bit more than I daresay you have been doing. With them being twins as well, the mother needs to eat more than normal anyway." Then the doctor grinned. "That aside, they look perfectly healthy. I wouldn't be surprised if they put in an early appearance, that tends to happen quite frequently with twins." Jesse's face reflected her nerves.  
  
"You mean that they may arrive early?"  
  
"It's quite probable. I can't give you and exact date, but I think you should start to make preparations. Hopefully, the next time I see you, you'll have your babies!" Jesse and James thanked the doctor and strolled leisurely back to the apartment hand in hand. Neither one felt like cooking, so they ordered pizza. Jesse ate two and James and Meowth had one each. Meowth was becoming a lot more independent, which suited all of them. Ho now rarely even came home to sleep. Jesse and James appreciated their time alone together even more as the babies drew ever closer.  
  
Jesse had just eaten her last slice of pepperoni and was licking her fingers when she squealed "Ooh!" James was instantly alert.  
  
"What id it Jess? Are the babies coming? Oh my god, oh my god…" Jesse giggled as James got himself into a flap.  
  
"Don't be so silly, I'd definitely let you know if they were. No, they're just kicking me. The one on the left's the strongest kicker. He's probably going to be a soccer player by the time he hits grade school. The other one's slightly gentler, I'd guess that she'll be a dancer." James had an odd, half-smile on his face. Jesse regarded him quizzically and he asked  
  
"You think we're going to have a boy and a girl?" Jesse shrugged.  
  
"It was just a gut feeling, my guess is as good as anybody else's." James nodded and agreed.  
  
"Good point, although I'd quite like two girls, then they could wear pretty dresses, with pink lace and ribbons." James grinned.  
  
"I'd prefer two boys personally. Less trouble and more adventurous." Then a thought occurred to Jesse. "James, we haven't thought of any names yet! We cant' have children without names!"  
  
"Hmm. Well, Jesse and James junior are god names…"  
  
"Ooh, imaginative!" Jesse rolled her eyes. "I really don't know, I'd have to see them first. We don't know what they're going to look like, or even if they're boys or girls." James conceded that they should wait until the babies were born before they named them.  
  
10 DAYS LATER-JULY 25TH   
  
"Well that was delicious James, you've exceeded yourself!" James grinned and started to clear up the plates. Then Jesse felt something happen, something BIG. She took in a breath sharply and gritted her teeth. James dropped the plates he was carrying on the kitchen floor and ran to her side.  
  
"Jesse? What happening?"  
  
"I'm pretty sure the babies are coming." She gasped "Hell yes, they're definitely not hanging around any longer."  
  
"Do you want me to call the hospital?" Jesse almost cracked up at James' panicked expression. He was pale as a sheet and was almost hyperventilating.  
  
"James, firstly, calm down and breathe. I don't think that there's –oh damn that's painful- time to get to the hospital. Just call Doctor Proctor on his cell phone and get him to come straight over." Jesse gritted her teeth again and James ran to the phone. He returned a few moments later.  
  
"He's in the middle of seeing another patient right now, but he says he'll get here as soon as he possibly can. Meanwhile, he's told us to sit tight and practice our breathing exercises." Jesse snickered  
  
"Was that advice for me or for you?" James ignored the taunt and helped Jesse up off the sofa and into the bedroom. James then ran around like a headless chicken, collecting clean towels and hot water.  
  
"James, you're making me dizzy. Calm down, the babies aren't going to be here for a while yet. Just take it easy." She smiled at him, but then her breathing increased in speed and James knelt down next to her. They breathed in unison as they had done at the classes they'd been to. James held Jesse's hand and she squeezed it so hard he thought his fingers would break, but he said nothing about it and bore it with a brave face. After half an hour, Jesse's contractions were coming every 30 seconds and Doctor Proctor still hadn't turned up. Jesse and James both knew that it was time for the babies to come and Jesse was in pain, a lot of pain, but her face reflected nothing but joy. She had never felt this good, she felt as if she we're stood at the top of the highest mountain, looking down on the earth. She was frightened and she was in agony, but she was about to bring two new people into the world. She felt something shift inside her and she knew it was time. "James, I need to start pushing now. Will you get the babies when they come out?" James was stuck for words but let go of Jesse's hand as she pushed, suing every ounce of strength in her body. She fell back, gasping for breath. James looked into her eyes and exclaimed  
  
"It's got a head! It's got a head! Come on! Keep pushing! It's got shoulders and arms! Come on, just a little more Jesse! Almost there, it's got a body, it's…it's…it's a boy!" Doctor Proctor burst into the room as the child's first cries rang out. He ran straight to them, gently took the baby from James, cleaned it and wrapped it in a blanket.  
  
"OK Jesse, you need to do the same again, come in now, that's a good girl." James held both of her hands and breathed with her whilst the doctor kept an eye on the progress of the second baby. James saw an odd expression on Jesse's face. It was obvious that she was in large amounts of pain, but she still looked happy. She was already exhausted, but she continued to push and push until she fell back onto her pillow, out of breath. Suddenly, the pain got a whole lot worse. Jesse could take no more. She pulled James' sleeve and yelled  
  
"James, I can't cope with this anymore! I can't do this anymore! It hurts too much!"  
  
"No Jesse, don't give up! We've got one baby and you're almost there! Just once more!" She squeezed James' hand harder than ever and he almost screamed. Jesse screwed up her face and her whole body shook for a few seconds, then she relaxed and they heard the cry of another baby.  
  
"It's a girl. Well done Jesse, you were fantastic." The doctor wrapped up the second baby and laid both children gently in Jesse's arms. James felt a lump rise up in his throat and tears welled in his eyes as he gazed upon the woman he loved cradling their children. Their children, it didn't seem real. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his now extremely bruised hand and he smiled at Jesse. He sat down next to her on the bed and took his first proper look at his children. The babies had stopped crying and were now gurgling quietly. The little girl had a delicate covering of scarlet hair on her head and her huge, glittery eyes were a beautiful emerald green. The baby boy had a downy crop of lavender hair with deep sapphire eyes that glinted in the early evening sunlight pouring in through the window. James gently stroked the little boy's fingers and blinked back tears. Jesse handed the baby to James. He cradled his son and the tears lurking at the back of his eyes spilled down his cheeks. He sobbed tears of joy and Jesse wiped them away with her spare hand. She kissed his cheek.  
  
"I know James. I feel the same way." Jesse's eyes sparkled. Doctor Proctor broke up the moment.  
  
"If you let me give the mother and babies the once over, I'll be on my way. I see no reason to cause them further stress by transferring them to hospital. Err…James, if you wouldn't mind giving us a few minutes, I'll call you in when we're ready." James handed the baby back to Jesse and grudgingly left. He sat in the living room, his head in his hands. They were parents to two babies. They were parents, Jesse and he. They had children. No matter how often he repeated it to himself, it didn't seen real. No matter how often he repeated it to himself, it didn't seem real. He stood up and wandered randomly around the room, a disbelieving grin playing across his face. He was a father. He flopped back down into a chair and waited.  
  
When the doctor finally emerged, he smiled at James. "All three of them are doing wonderfully. The babies couldn't be healthier, but Jesse needs to rest for a while, just until her blood pressure comes down. Your family is perfect. Jesse's feeding them at the moment. I'll call back tomorrow evening, just to check how you're getting on. Oh, and I changed the sheets for you." The doctor smiled wistfully and departed. James trod softly back to their bedroom to find Jesse feeding the babies. He sat slowly down next to her and she nuzzled him, as she didn't have any hands free.   
  
"James, the babies need names. We never decided on any." James shrugged and looked deep in thought. After a few moments, Jesse softly said, "I was wondering, if it's OK by you, could we name the girl Miyamoto? When I look at her, I just see my mother and I'd like to think that a part of her could live on in her grandchild. I know my mother would have been proud." Jesse felt a lump rise in her throat and was unable to continue. James stroked her hair and kissed her cheek. He knew that the wounds Jesse had endured when she lost her mother might never truly heal, as they had been so painful. James gazed at his now-sleeping son. He looked so peaceful, so perfect, just like an…  
  
"Angel." He announced. Jesse looked at him, perplexed. "I think we should name him Angel. He looks just like an Angel." Jesse wrinkled her nose at James. "Or maybe Angel isn't the best name. It is kind of dumb, in a way. We don't want him to get picked on." Jesse giggled. "What was the name of that angel, the one that came to Mary in the Bible?"  
  
"Gabriel?"  
  
"Yeah, Gabriel. What do you think of that for a name for him?" Jesse smiled  
  
"I think it's beautiful." By this point, both babies were asleep. James brought the tiny cots he had bought for when the babies were newborns into the bedroom and laid the children down gently in them. James glanced out of the window, disappearing over the horizon. It had been a very long day for all of them. James shuffled closer to Jesse, who still couldn't take her eyes off their children. Her head eventually began to nod and she drifted into sleep, James close behind her.  
  
Jesse awoke early the next morning. She had a dull ache in the pit of her stomach but that aside, she had never felt better. Jesse stretched and glanced at the cots. To her alarm, the babies weren't there, but then she noticed James wasn't in bed either and she relaxed. Jesse shakily stood up, pulled on her robe and unsteadily walked to the living room. James was curled up on the sofa, one baby in each arm. He sang a soft lullaby to them, completely oblivious to Jesse watching him. Jesse sighed quietly and listened to his singing. He had such a beautiful voice; she almost wished that she were one of the babies so that she could listen to him. After a few seconds, there came a scratching at Meowth's cat flap, which James had locked earlier. James jumped.  
  
"I'll get it!" Jesse announced, making James jump again.  
  
"Oh, hi Jess! I didn't know you were up. Miyamoto started crying about an hour ago. I didn't want them to wake you, so I brought them in here." Jesse smiled at how sweet James was and unbolted the cat flap. Meowth ran in. "Dere's some friendsa mine I tink yous should meet. Can dey come in?" Jesse blinked a few times.  
  
"Um…sure?"   
  
"Tanks!" Meowth ran back outside, then re-emerged, carrying a small ball of fur in his mouth. Jesse regarded him quizzically, but was somewhat more taken aback when a smaller, female Meowth walked in carrying another two fur balls. The two cats deposited the balls of fluff at James' feet in front of the fireplace. On closer inspection, the fur balls turned out to be tiny Meowth kittens. "Dese are my babies and dis-" He nuzzled the female Meowth "Is Diamond. Dat's why I ain't been home much lately. Yous twos had enough ta tink about." James raised an eyebrow but Jesse was smitten by the kittens.  
  
"Oh, James, they're so sweet! Meowth, why didn't you tell us earlier? Where were you staying?"  
  
"Out on da streets mostly. Diamond's trainer abandoned her. I tought I could bring her here when she had da babies." Meowth glanced at James. "Meowth! I'm not da only one wid kids!" Jesse beamed and snuggled up next to James on the sofa. She took Miyamoto in her own arms, leaving James with Gabriel. The tiny kittens were fed by Diamond whilst Meowth looked on proudly. James kissed Jesse's cheek lightly. Jesse nuzzled him and softly sighed.  
  
"We have babies. We'd better prepare for trouble." James laughed.  
  
"Correction, two babies. We'd better make it double!"  
  
THE END? (Don't bet on it!)  
  
  



End file.
